"Depression is connected with the past, anxiety latches on to the future, but holding a camera — being alert to the world around us — is the antidote to all that. Photography helps keep one in the present." (Quote by Karen Molson)

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Vimy Monument Statues

The Canadian War Museum has custody of 17 of the 20 plaster figures that were created by the sculptor Walter Seymour Allward for his creation of the Vimy Memorial located at Vimy Ridge in France. These plaster figures were created between 1925 and 1930. Professional stone carvers worked from the design of these plaster casts to create the final statues on the Vimy Memorial.

In 1937 the plaster figures were packed in crates and shipped to Canada, where they were stored by the Department of Public Works as part of the Canadian War Museum artifact collection. The Department of Veteran Affairs had custody of the plaster figures, and on May 3, 1960 informed the museum that “…the Minister of Veterans Affairs had agreed that the models may be destroyed” so long as photographs were taken of them first.

That did not happen, and the 17 plaster figures can be viewed by the public at the Canadian War Museum. The remaining 3 plaster figures are on display in the Military Communications and Electronics Museum at the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston.

I fell in love with these powerful works of art, and during the past three years I have paid numerous visits to the museum to take photos under various lighting conditions. This video is the result of my time and effort.